Warship Wednesday (on a Thursday) 23 July 2026: Semper Laborantes

Here at LSOZI, we take a break every Wednesday to explore the old steam/diesel navies from 1833 to 1954, profiling a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger If you enjoy my always ad-free Warship Wednesday content, you can support it by buying me a cup of joe at https://buymeacoffee.com/lsozi As Henk says: “Warship Coffee – no sugar, just a pinch of salt!” Warship Wednesday 23 July 2026: Semper Laborantes USCG Photo 26-G-07-26-56(13). National Archives Identifier 205592132 Above we see the Balsam (Iris “C”)-class armed ocean-going buoy tender USCG Hornbeam (WAGL-394) hard at work at the scene of one of the most infamous maritime disasters in modern history, some 70 years ago this week. In the photo, the once-proud Italian liner Andrea Doria lists dangerously in over 200 fathoms of water off Nantucket, with two of her lifeboats alongside Hornbeam. The Balsams In 1916, the Revenue…